Thank you for your request for information about the following: 

Request 

You asked us: 

Under the Freedom of Information Act I am requesting the following information from National Community Dental Service (CDS) Waiting List data collection. 

1. List the names of providers offeringi) routine services ii) sedation services and iii) generalanaesthetic services for the most recent complete data collection. 

2. Provide national figures for waiting times fori) children ii) adults and iii) all patients for both a) assessment and b) treatment fori) routine services ii) sedation services and iii) general anaesthetic services by the following breaks: 

-Total number of patients waiting for treatment 

-Total number of patients waiting 0-1 weeks (0-7 days) 

-Total number of patients waiting 1-2 weeks (8-14 days) 

-Total number of patients waiting 2-4 weeks (15-28 days) 

-Total number of patients waiting 4-12 weeks (29-84 days) 

-Total number of patients waiting 12-18 weeks (85-126 days) 

-Total number of patients waiting 18-52 weeks (127-364 days) 

-Total number of patients waiting over 52 weeks (over 365 days) 

3. Please also provide the same figures broken down by each provider.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 13 April 2026. 

We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).   

Our response 

We have considered this request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and are issuing a refusal notice under section 17 of the FOIA.  

The NHSBSA holds the requested information you have requested. However, we consider that this information is exempt from disclosure under section 22 of the FOIA, which applies to information which is intended for future publication.  

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) guidance states that, for section 22 to apply, “the public authority must, at the time of the request, hold the information and intend that it or “any other person” will publish it in future. This means that it must have a “settled expectation that the information will be published at some future date”. 

On behalf of NHS England, NHSBSA are collecting the amended monthly Community Dental Services (CDS) Waiting List Data Collection (WLDC), beginning from August 2025.  

On 5 August 2025, NHS England issued a letter which confirms a settled intention to collect and publish national Community Dental Service waiting list data. You can view the letter at the link below: 

NHS England » National Community Dental Service (CDS) waiting list collection: letter 

The letter establishes a formal, mandatory national data collection and confirms that the collection is intended to align with routinely published NHS waiting list datasets. Please note that there is not a set date for publication currently.  

In applying this exemption, we have balanced the public interest in withholding the information against the public interest in disclosing the information.  

Please see the below factors in favour of maintaining the exemption, and those in favour disclosure of the information.   

Considerations for disclosure: 

• public accountability  

• the need for public authorities to be transparent in their dealings and performance 

Considerations against disclosure:   

• the National CDS Waiting list collection is ongoing and the dataset is not yet finalised 

• the information is intended for future publication once the collection, validation and quality assurance is finalised 

• the information is therefore subject to change as part of those processes 

• there is a public interest in not disclosing information which could be misleading or incomplete, and early disclosure may not accurately reflect the final release 

• publication following completion of validation and assurance supports consistency, context and reliability in the final published dataset 

• withholding the information until publication supports the orderly release of a complete, national dataset, ensuring it is accessible and understandable to all users on an equal basis  

Conclusion: 

We consider that the advantage to releasing this information now (rather than upon the planned publication) is outweighed by the potential prejudice to the completeness and consistency of the data provided. 

Please see the following link to view the section 22 in full - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/22